Barack Obama arrives in Mexico for a brief visit today, and my quick perusal of the local press turns up an op-ed he wrote for Mexico City’s El Universal (translation my own):

Too often, the United States has not sought or maintained relations with its neighbors. We’ve allowed ourselves to be distracted by other priorities, without realizing that our progress is directly linked to progress in the whole American continent. My government is committed to the promise of a new day. We will renew and maintain more extensive relationships between United States and the hemisphere, for the sake of our common prosperity and our common security.

Of course, the Mexican government would prefer that Obama practice what he preaches when it comes to being a good neighbor. And while our prosperity may be linked to a degree, Mexico is not poorer than the United States because of any policies of this country. Mr. Obama would help Mexico by calling them to speed the move toward transparency, respect for private property, and rule of law. Those changes will do more to move Mexicans out of poverty than any number of U.S. apologies.

This part is interesting as well:

To confront our economic crisis, we don’t need to debate whether a rigid and state-directed economy or an unregulated, runaway capitalism is better, we need to take pragmatic and responsible steps to promote our common prosperity. To combat crime and violence, it’s not necessary to discuss whether the fault lies with the right-wing paramilitaries or leftist insurgents, practical cooperation is needed to reinforce our common security.

Obama persists in erecting strawmen.

Does anyone propose ‘unregulated capitalism?’ Has the United States ever attempted to adopt such a system? Obama invents and deploys straw men to make his move to the Left seem more like a move to the center. But whatever he calls it, the reality is the same: it wont work. It has been tried before – notably by some of the Latin American countries Obama is preaching to now. It hasn’t created jobs and wealth there, and it won’t here, either.

Be sure to read Fausta’s take on Obama’s Mexico trip as well.